To Bedlam and Partway Back
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters
NOTE: WARNINGS FOR SLASH, INCEST, AND CHAN
Chapter Seventeen
Morning dawned murky and cold without Harry beside him. Cedric sat up groggily, feeling a phantom weight in his arms. After Hermione's announcement, Herbie had stayed around to chat a little, but he could clearly see that the blond's heart wasn't in it, and had left soon after. Hermione had watched him leave with a strangely sympathetic look in her eyes. He didn't say where he was sleeping, and Cedric didn't dare to ask. He still hadn't seen Bernard since that time, which he was just all the more thankful for.
Slipping out from underneath the covers made him shiver at the brisk morning air, but the sight awaiting him stopped him cold. Just as he had a day ago, Harry was lying motionlessly in his bed. As Cedric cautiously approached, taking in the pallor of his cheeks and barely-moving chest, it was far too easy to pretend that he was dead. He shivered again at the mere thought of that ever happening to the brunet.
"Harry," Cedric whispered, smoothing back the messy bangs from the otherwise smooth forehead. The boy didn't respond, but then again, Cedric hadn't quite been expecting him to. It would have been a miracle and a half for Harry to wake up this soon, memory fully intact.
A couple of minutes later, a quiet knock came at the door, and a bushy brown head poked its way through.
"Cedric?" Hermione asked. "It's time for breakfast." She slid more fully into the room. "How is he?"
Cedric shrugged. "Same as, I suppose. He hasn't even stirred once. I lay awake for hours last night hoping to hear something, but– nothing."
The girl smiled tremulously. "I'm sure he'll be okay."
She led him to the dining room, where Herbie and Bernard were already seated opposite each other.
"Nothing?" Herbie asked. He just shook his head wordlessly.
Breakfast passed a little stiltedly, because none of them had very much to say to each other. Cedric was mostly consumed with worry for Harry, and while Hermione and Herbie were as well, Hermione kept shooting all three of the older boys satisfied glances when she thought they weren't looking, and Herbie had his own problems to contend with. Bernard cared, but only by extension in that Herbie cared. Otherwise, it would be hard to say where he truly stood on the matter. There were times when Cedric thought him as ambivalent as Herbie had once said of their parents.
The twins spent the meal murmuring small words back and forth to each other, almost unconsciously intimate. Despite himself, Cedric still found himself moved by the absent concern they showed for each other without even consciously realising it.
Midway through the meal, Bernard looked up sharply, a frown crossing his face.
"What is it?" Herbie asked softly, his fingers brushing the back of his brother's hand.
"Did you hear that? You didn't, did you?"
"What was it?" Cedric asked.
The older twin. "It was nothing, I'm sure. I just thought I heard-"
"I heard it that time too," Hermione whispered, suddenly pale.
"Then I wasn't imagining it," Bernard muttered.
"What was it?" Cedric asked again.
Bernard's frown deepened. "It was almost like someone was- was screaming-"
And then he heard it. Cedric nearly pitched his chair across the room in his alarm. As it was, he was out of the dining room like a bolt, cursing everything under the sun on the way.
"I should have never left him alone!" he snarled as he tore through the corridors of the Fleet Manor. The closer he got to their rooms, the louder the screams became. When he finally flung open the door to their room, it was only to see Harry ripping through his covers and his vocal chords. The sight shell-shocked him for a split second, and then he dove right in.
"Harry!" he cried, trying his hardest to rouse the boy. "Harry, wake up! Whatever it is, it's only a dream! Wake up, Harry, wake up!"
Harry's hands continued to flail, and one of his hands nearly clipped his jaw. Cedric shook him more viciously. "Harry, wake up!"
The boy shot straight up, air surging down his throat in a harsh gasp.
Cedric gripped his small face between his hands, forcing those green-green eyes to look only at him. "Harry. Do you recognise me?"
Those eyes went blank, and Cedric's heart clenched. And then the boy was batting his hands away and flinging himself into his chest, actually clipping him on the jaw this time.
"Cedric!" The boy was sobbing. "I thought- I thought- I thought you were-"
"Harry," he breathed, inhaling the clear scent. "I'm here. It's alright, whatever it was. It was only a dream. I swear, it was only a dream."
"It was so real," Harry wailed, "and there wasn't anything I could do-"
"Can I ask what was it?" Cedric wiped the tear streaks away from thin cheeks, trying to ignore the sudden inclusion of three presences at their open door. Luckily, Harry hadn't seemed to have noticed quite yet.
Impossibly green eyes looked up at him, a deep pain in between the vivid colour. "It was you," he whispered, "and 'Mione." The sideways glance told him Harry was more aware than he gave him credit for. "And your father." Cedric stiffened. "H-he was hurting the two of you. And he wouldn't stop until- until-" He ended with an upset hiccup.
"It's not going to happen," Cedric told him firmly. "It won't, I swear to you. We're going to go to court, win our case, and you won't ever have to worry about this ever again." Then a thought struck him. "But you're remembering all of this- Harry, you remember this."
Harry gave him a shy smile, one that answered his own yearning. "I do. It worked. I remember us." His cheeks pinked as he said those words. But to Cedric he'd never heard anything sweeter. His lips found Harry's, and he could almost taste the shock, and then the pleasure flowing from them. Thin arms clung to the back of his neck, hands tangling in his blond locks. Cedric thought he'd die happy then, excerpt for one thing-
"I took advantage of you," he confessed into messy black strands. Even if Harry didn't damn him then, his conscience was doing a perfectly brilliant job of it. Behind his back, Hermione didn't know whether to look disapproving or embararssed.
Harry pulled back, and his emerald eyes stared at him unwaveringly. "Perhaps," he conceded, "but I remember being rather persuasive myself."
Now Hermione just looked plain embarrassed, while Herbie was trying to stifle his laughter in his brother's shoulder. Bernard himself looked as if he couldn't quite help the smile from his face.
"You were the key witness, Potter. Now that your memory is back– the case will be a roust. I have to warn you though, that the Wizengamot will want to convene immediately."
His words suddenly sobered the two on the bed, and Herbie elbowed his twin sharply in the gut.
"Oof," Bernard grunted.
"Thanks a lot," Herbie muttered sarcastically.
"Are all of you sure you want to go through with this?" Harry fretted. "I mean, I'm not sure what the outcome of this will be, but things are going to be radically different, aren't they? Things won't be anything like how they used to be. For all of you."
The four of them exchanged steady looks. "You keep asking us that," Herbie said matter-of-factly, "but aren't you just trying to cover up how frightened you are of change?"
Harry stared at him with huge eyes, while Cedric was glaring daggers at him. Bernard was looking at him as if he'd grown a second head, and he lightly nipped aside, dodging Hermione's attempt at bruising his shins.
"We're all ready for this change to happen," Herbie continued, "but are you? We've all come to terms with what will happen once this case goes to court- there won't be peace and quiet for any of us, not for a while yet. And Ceddy, well, his family's kind of royally fucked. You blame yourself for that, I know you do. But what you don't understand is just how much was beyond your radius of control. We've all come to terms with things. But have you? Will you? Can you?"
Harry slumped when he sat, staring at the fingers he had gathered in his lap. He appeared to be thinking very hard over what Herbie had just said.
"You're right." Hermione's head jerked up at his voice. "You're right; I hadn't wanted to be the reason for this change. And I didn't like how other things beyond my control were changing, too. I didn't like what Cedric had to end up doing, or his mother. But I think I had to hear that, Herbie. I think I had to hear that you'll were ready, much more than I was. I don't think I could have done this for myself. Or at least not by myself. But this whole mess was my fault, and I'll just have to deal with it, come what may."
Herbie sighed. "Ah, Elton John."
Hermione hit him. "Will you stop it with the non-sequiturs?" she hissed.
He squinted at her. "How do you even know what that word means?" The girl blushed.
"Well, at least that's all settled," Harry said, smiling shyly. "What's next on the agenda?"
"Our parents need to know he's awake," Bernard murmured. "I'll let them know, and then a court date will be issued. There will usually be an interim of at least two weeks, but since this is such a high profile case, the Wizengamot may want to try this as soon as possible. A week from today may be a more likely date."
"A week!" Hermione exclaimed. "Is there enough time to gather the evidence? Do your parents need any help in that-"
Herbie looked at her with consideration. "You may actually want to consider interning with my mother over the summer, Hermione, if you're really intending on going into politics after graduation. It'll give you a good head start, and, well, maybe she won't have to look so hard for an heir for her position." She blushed at the high praise.
But Cedric was concentrating on Harry, once Bernard made his announcement. "Are you all right with that?" he asked anxiously.
Harry smiled. "I will be."
Soon after, the twins made their excuses and left the room together. They were rarely ever seen one without the other, and if it weren't for their obvious differences in demeanour, even Cedric might have been hard-pressed to tell just which of them was which. Not to mention Herbie seemed calmer, more balanced, with Bernard by his side. Cedric was glad for that, at least.
He also noticed he was not alone in watching them leave. Hermione's brown eyes had lingered on their identical forms a little too long to be merely coincidental.
"You- you wouldn't happen to have had a crush on Herbie, would you?" he asked hesitantly.
Hermione whirled around, mouth agape in surprise. Harry was looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head.
"No!" she blurted out. "No, not at all!"
Cedric felt even more ill at even having considered his next option. "Bernard?"
This time the girl laughed herself silly before answering. "No," she barely managed to choke out. "I would never have. It's just- just- not done. To them."
Cedric's eyes widened, and then narrowed at her. "You know," he said quietly. Beside him, Harry stirred, not understanding the words, just the weight of importance behind them.
Hermione sobered almost immediately. "Yes, I do. It wasn't hard to miss– it was obvious from the time Bernard asked me if Herbie would speak with him."
Cedric closed his eyes in self-recrimination. Now, all things considered, he could only feel bad about not knowing his best mate half as well as he'd though he'd had. Then a thought came to him, and he opened his eyes. "You were looking at the three of us during lunch."
She gave a small, secret smile. "If Bernard was being obvious about his feelings, you were practically shouting it from the rafters from the past couple of days. I was just glad you and Herbie were back together- not in that way, though, Harry, so you don't have to worry about Cedric getting disemboweled or anything like that-"
He sputtered out a humourless laugh as he tuned out Hermione's explanations and Harry's shocked exclamations. Hermione might not have purposefully meant to call him out on his behaviour, but he was still grateful that she had mentioned it. He'd known in the back of his mind that he'd been an awful best mate, but he hadn't had the time to really sit down and process the thought. Now that Harry was fine, though, he couldn't avoid acknowledging that his behaviour toward Herbie really had been appalling, no matter how much of a surprise his affections had been. They had just about made up the day before, but Cedric thought Herbie deserved more.
The chestnut-haired Keeper had always deserved more. Even when he had returned to Hogwarts after a two year absence, as skinny as a rake and paler than the inner petals of a lily, he'd been an unerring embodiment of their House. Cedric had shamed his badger values by letting his head rule his heart. Sure, sometimes it led him to strange decisions, but as he took in the smiling countenance of the dark-haired boy on the bed, being regaled by his best mate with tales from the past days, he knew he didn't regret a single one of them.
Herbie's refusal to leave Bernard was a true testament to his Hufflepuff-ness. And he knew, from the look of utter contentment and bliss that he had directed at Bernard while they were leaving the room, that Herbie didn't regret a one either.
It turned out that Bernard was right. The moment his parents declared Harry fit for testimony, the Wizengamot announced that the court case would be held on the following Monday, just six days away. Soon, the Fleet Manor was flooded by paralegals and lawyers all working under the two elder Fleets, and Hermione joined in their ranks, never looking more happy as she chased down one obscure file after another. Herbie and Bernard were working alongside their parents as well, although they said nary a word to them, merely working quietly and efficiently together.
Harry was mostly content to sit aside from the bustle throughout that almost-week, hardly ever leaving Cedric's side. The badgers in their year had Owled over their homework, and he could usually be found steadily working his way through the huge pile the professors had apparently seen fit to dump on the students, ostensibly to take their minds off...other matters.
When Monday finally came, it seemed like none of them could wait for it to be over.
"This court is called to session, in the case of Potter vs. Diggory. Will the defendant please step forward?"
It was hardly surprising then, Cedric thought bitterly, that Dumbledore would act as his father's defence. He almost wanted to spit at the old warlock's feet, but had a feeling that probably wouldn't tide over too well with the old, doddering wizards and witches present. As Dumbledore was so deeply entrenched in the court case, the reins of the Wizengamot had been handed over to the DMLE's Amelia Bones. Cornelius Fudge was, of course, still sitting on the panel, but as a spectator, and not a participant.
Amos shuffled forward and took his seat in the middle of the floor.
The Lady Fleet prowled around him, taking particular delight in the beads of sweat she managed to squeeze down his face with her mere presence.
"Lord Diggory," she purred, "would you mind explaining your actions over the un-instigated attack on Mr. Potter at Hogsmeade?"
"It was not an attack," the man insisted furiously. "My son's got him brainwashed, is what that is. You see where he is?" He had to indicate with his chin as his arms were chained behind his back. "Got the poor boy completely dependent on him, and when he's got a loving family waiting for him at home."
The man was slightly taken aback when Harry produced quite a magnificent sneer at his pompous air of self-righteousness. The Lady Fleet continued to slowly walk around his chair, causing him to twist and turn to try and keep her in his line of sight, and subsequently ruining whatever decorum he might have previously possessed. There was such a long lull between the previous question and the next that there were those in the court who nearly thought she had decided to conclude her query.
"Under whose counsel did you decide to take such action?"
Amos snorted, as though such a question were even contestable. He didn't see the sudden alarm that raced across Dumbledore's face, concentrated as he was on Lady Fleet. "Why, Headmaster Dumbledore, of course." Even though just about everyone present had already known this, there was still a sizeable attention shift towards the white-faced old man.
"And given Professor Dumbledore's repute, you trusted what he had to say about Mr. Potter's family, did you not?"
Amos nodded triumphantly, glad to see even the prosecutor following his train of thought.
Lady Fleet turned en pointe. "The prosecution has no more questions," she announced as she waited for Amos to be escorted back to the bench before starting on her conclusion.
"The Lord Diggory is a fool, Your Honour," she disdained, blatantly ignoring the purpling face of the chained prisoner behind her. "He follows instruction implicitly without the slightest inkling of independent thought. I am confident that the Supreme Mugwump could rationalise jumping off a bridge to the Lord Diggory and have him do it."
A round of sniggers swept through the courtroom.
"Objection, Your Honour," Dumbledore spoke out. "That is baseless conjecture!"
Amelia nodded patronisingly. "Of course, Professor Dumbledore. Lady Fleet, if you would continue?" The man bristled at being so overtly dismissed.
"Your Honour, if I may bring out my own witness to refute the claims of Lord Diggory?"
Amelia looked intrigued. "Which claims are those, Lady Fleet, and who is your witness?"
"That Mr. Potter had a loving family. I call Harry Potter to the stand."
Bit of a cliffhanger, although it won't be much longer. Do remember to review, as my challenge from last chapter still stands (o:
Also, just a little extra for you guys: a oneshot featuring Marcus/Oliver, in the same verse as To Bedlam and Partway Back, that will be posted next week before the final chapter is up, so do check my profile (o: Enjoy, and cheers!